Architecture of verifiable environmental monitoring based on SmartDust sensor systems

Abstract

A pressing challenge in verifiable monitoring of anthropogenic impacts on the environment under conditions of intensive industrialization lies in the development of conceptual approaches to designing architectures of secure sensor systems that integrate cryptographic authentication, distributed verification, and blockchain technologies. The SmartDust concept, which envisages the deployment of distributed sensor swarms composed of micro-electromechanical systems, demonstrates considerable potential for building scalable ecological and analytical infrastructures. However, unresolved issues remain with respect to ensuring the cryptographic authenticity of sensor nodes, protecting telemetry data from tampering, and maintaining resilience against cyber-physical attacks and electromagnetic interference. This article proposes a conceptual architecture grounded in a multi-layered paradigm of trusted interaction. The architectural model incorporates cryptographic identification and lightweight digital signing of telemetry packets at the sensor level, swarm-based cross-verification of data using decentralized consensus algorithms, and the integration of gateways with a distributed ledger to guarantee data immutability and retrospective verifiability. Simulation results indicate that the proposed architecture substantially enhances the trustworthiness of environmental monitoring data, minimizes the risks of data falsification, and ensures the resilience of the sensor network to disruptive influences.